Bartlett Sher will be directing a Broadway-bound production that will premiere in Los Angeles in January next year. Nothing else is mentioned in the report at Playbill, but one wonders: How is Lea Michele going to work it in around Glee? Or will Leslie Kritzer repeat her turn from Paper Mill and finally get the break that makes her a star?

So Sher has gone with an out-of-the-box choice with Lauren Ambrose (http://broadwayworld.com/article/Lauren-Ambrose-Bartlett-Sher-Talk-FUNNY-GIRL-Casting-20110803) and I'm thrilled. I think she'll be great and completely unexpected in the role. There was no way that finding someone like Streisand could have gone well, so I'm glad that the production has chosen someone completely different.

I've always liked Lauren Ambrose and I am glad to see her cast in the role. It will be interesting to see what she makes of it. I am pretty glad that Lea Michele wasn't cast in the role. After her performance at the Tony Awards, it is hard not to imagine that she would try to channel Streisand into the role and nobody is Streisand but Streisand. I do feel a bit sorry for Leslie Kritzer. This probably should have been her big break. But if she doesn't fit with Bartlett Sher's vision for the show, then that's that I guess.

Anyway, perhaps even more interesting than the casting is the news that this will be a "revisal" of sorts:


It'll be interesting to see what the show ends up looking like.

While I definitely agree that the show needs to be reworked a bit (strengthened second act, maybe some deepening of Nick) I hope they don't go overboard with trying to ape Streisand in the film (I'm looking at you, My Man!).

I think they design and lighting will be wonderful! I'm always a sucker for good design and lighting. It's the same team from South Pacific, so hopefully this revival will be just as good.

Lea Michele responds to the casting of Lauren Ambrose in Funny Girl:



Meanwhile, the casting has started to inspire some parody songwriters:

From Playbill: With Bobby Cannavale starring as Nick Arnstein, the Lauren Ambrose led Funny Girl will open at the Imperial Theatre after Billy Elliot closes there in January.

Latest news is that Funny Girl has been postponed. The problem? Money. In this case, I think that postponed pretty much means scrapped. Here's an interesting NYT article on the whole affair.